A Moiré-Deflectometer as Gravimeter for Antihydrogen

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Translation of abstract (English)

AEgIS (Antimatter Experiment: Gravity, Interferometry, Spectroscopy) – one of the experiments carried out at CERN – aims to examine fundamental physical properties of antimatter, in order to promote knowledge about the incompatibility of gravitation with other forces. As part of achieving this knowledge, the experiment will measure in its first phase the gravitational acceleration g of antihydrogen with a precision of 1% and hence, provide data for a deeper understanding of antimatter in general. A Moiré-deflectometer is applied as gravimeter for this measurement. Its design and construction are carried out in Heidelberg. In order to test and characterise this deflectometer to its best achieveable sensitivity, a high-flux source of metastable argon atoms as well as a Faraday cup to detect these atoms are built. An additional optical Mach-Zehnder interferometer controls the stability of the apparatus. The major components of the deflectometer, the deflection gratings, are manufactured out of six-inch silicon wafers. Their prototypes together with the entire apparatus are designed and built with due care to account for the experimental conditions given by the apparatus at CERN. A first gravitational measurement with the test setup at Heidelberg yields g = (9.5±1.9) m/s^2 and opens up a huge number of potential improvements.